Patrick Morrison: THEN THERE WERE FOUR

By Patrick Morrison

Blaine Hughes (Armagh) v Shane Ryan (Kerry).Shaun Patton (Donegal) v Conor Gleeson (Galway).

This weekend will see the penultimate round of the 2024 All-Ireland Football Championships take place while also seeing the final of the Tailteann Cup.

The two semi-finals and Tailteann Cup will see crowds from all four provinces descend upon the capital in search for respective glory. It was widely spoken when Galway dispatched the Dubs in the quarter-final that the race was now blown wide open BUT, this is exactly the kind of talk that Kerry tends to thrive upon.

In this article I will be looking at the four teams involved as well as looking at how important the role of each team’s goalkeeper will be.

But first I would like to wish the Down senior footballers the best of luck in their Tailteann Cup final versus Laois, the team they comprehensively beat in last year’s semi-final.

That previous meeting will mean nothing if only to serve as added motivation for a dogged Laois team to gain revenge for last year’s drubbing. I had the pleasure of being involved in Down’s run to the Tailteann final last year working as their goalkeeping coach and I do believe they are on a very fast upward curve.

The football they have been playing under Conor Laverty (whom I also worked with while on Kilcoo’s All-Ireland run in 2021) is very much progressive and will give them the perfect springboard to play against the top teams in the country in the coming years. I wish them all the very best, especially goalkeeper John O’Hare, and hope they get the first of an Ulster double this Saturday.

Both semi-finals this weekend will whet the appetite for even the most dispassionate football supporter, on paper at least. Each game will have their own specific plot-lines and how each team will play on the day could be the winning or losing for that team.

All four teams have had winning seasons thus far with Donegal the only team having suffered a defeat within normal time in championship football.

Out of the four semi-finalists, Kerry are the only team with a complete win schedule beating Cork, Clare, Monaghan, Meath, Louth and Derry respectively. From that list, they have played one Division One team and three Division Three teams thus far and as such have had the most facile pathway in terms of opposition and by playing a game less.

Kerry’s opponents Armagh have played seven games with five wins, one draw and one loss on penalties to Donegal in the Ulster final. They have played three Division One teams, two Division Two teams and the top two Division Three teams. The path taken has been similar to that of Kerry although having played an extra game with slightly better opposition will stand better to Armagh than it will to the Kingdom.

In the other semi-final, I think it is fitting that both Donegal and Galway have had the two toughest pathways to this stage but again with very little separating their difficulty.

Galway have played the most games out of the four teams with eight, playing five Division One teams and one team from Divisions Two, Three and Four. Their most notable performance came in a second-half fight back to oust Dublin from this year’s series.

Donegal, on the other hand, have played a game less with seven, winning six and losing one to Cork in the group stages. Donegal have played four teams from Division One and three teams from Division Two but have played a game less than Galway thereby making their pathways very similar.

All four pathways are sure to set up two mouth-watering semi-final pairings; it is now down to the teams themselves to seize the initiative for themselves putting their best feet forward in their quest for the ultimate prize. How will each team go about doing this?

Under Jim McGuiness, Donegal have been rejuvenated from last season and have been playing a very methodical style which has a core framework that also allows for adaptations for each opponent they face. They have shown they can play both on the front foot (Derry) or ultra conservative (Armagh NFL) when the need requires it. Against Galway it will be a combination of both I feel will serve them best.

Shaun Patton’s role for Donegal will be an important one. Galway pride themselves on their midfield play, especially on restarts. He will also have to keep a close watchful eye on one of the country’s top forwards in Shane Walsh as well as the dangerous supporting cast that assist him. His biggest role will be through leading his team via his own performance as when Patton plays well, Donegal play well.

Galway over their eight games have picked up a fair few knocks and injuries none more so than their talisman Walsh who seemed to be having ankle/hamstring issues against Dublin last day out. Even so, Galway will still be a very dangerous animal and have a fantastic balance between defence and attack which is underpinned by their unshakeable discipline and belief.

Galway custodian Connor Gleeson is a key element to these characteristics. Just like Patton, whatever traits he expresses on the day, Galway seem to follow.

He can be prone to moments of over exuberance but they have been rare this season. Gleeson likes to come and help his team get out of defence and onto the attack which has been exploited in the past and the option he gives Galway in regard to long-range frees helps keep their opposition honest.

With Dublin gone Kerry will automatically become favourites and now back under the reigns of Jack O’Connor who can argue that their new ‘whatever it takes’ style of play has put them in pole position.

We have seen a different Kerry this year coming away from their fast paced, attack driven style we know and have become accustomed to seeing. They have combined this with a more measured approach and an evolution to adapt to various opponents and their styles of play. This was no more evident than against Derry two weeks ago when they played Derry at their own game and won. Kerry people may not like to admit it but ‘whatever it takes’ seems to be their goal.

Shane Ryan, an All-Star winner in 2022, will be massively important to Kerry this weekend.

This season he has been returned to a more orthodox goalkeeper under O’Connor coming outfield less and conservatively joining his teammates coming out of defence. His influence has not waned though as his calmness under pressure and leadership skills are up there with the very best and his accuracy and decision making on restarts is second to none.

He is superb at his goalkeeping craft, especially in goalmouth situations but he will need to be at his very best to keep his defence on their toes for Armagh’s formidable attacking players.

Armagh, on their day, have the beating of any team in the country.

Whenever they unleash their ferocious attacking play there are very few teams that can withstand such an onslaught. Armagh’s biggest opponent will always be themselves. They have now got a complete team in terms of a clear footballing identity marrying defence and attack while also having restart strategies to match. Out of the four teams left they would have the best quality in depth to come off their bench giving them a strong finish to every game they play.

For me, my former teammate Blaine Hughes has been the standout goalkeeper in this year’s championship. His time away has allowed him time to reflect and return with a renewed energy and purpose in his play.

Unfazed by a possible return of Ethan Rafferty, Hughes had taken hold of the number one spot for Armagh showing excellence in all that he has done thus far. He, like Niall Morgan, has an excellent all round game and plays the ‘anchor’ role for Armagh to perfection.

All four teams have very strong goalkeepers and that is testament to just how far each of them have come thus far. We have seen all season just how good each of them are in terms of their attacking prowess. BUT for me this weekend, it will be how well they perform on the defensive side of the ball that will ultimately decide if their teams progress through to this year’s All-Ireland decider in a few weeks’ time.

Email: pmgoalkeeping@hotmail.com

Facebook: @MSoG11

Twitter: @MorSchGk